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Newsweek: The 'Mr. Fix-It' Factor (3/19/07) by Howard Fineman
How can you tell the White House is in low water with the press? When reporters start to recast their glowing coverage of George W. Bush, in effect re-writing history. Here's Howard Fineman in the current issue of Newsweek: "At Harvard Business School, George W. Bush was what they called a 'skydecker'—a guy who sat in the top back row of the lecture hall to minimize the risk of being called on." But turn back to Newsweek's December 25, 2000 edition, where the magazine was trying to shore up the public image of Bush after he lost the popular vote and was placed in office by the Supreme Court—Fineman (with a co-author) was trying to answer the question, "Is Bush smart enough to be a good president?":Bush is a quick-enough study, and in fact there is a method to his preppy casualness. At Harvard he was what is still known as a sky decker—a student who chooses to sit in the top row of the horseshoe-shaped classroom amphitheater. Sky deckers sat back and listened, taking in the scene, contributing consensus-building observation from on high. Sky deckers also had a better shot at surviving the professors' legendary "cold calls"—demands for impromptu class presentations.... It suited his methods, and even now he'd much rather learn through briefings than paper."
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